BAY IN PARLIAMENT

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 33, 8 August 1934, Page 8

BAY IN PARLIAMENT

POLICE OFFENCES BILL

Labour members of the 'House of Representatives are apparently determined to do all in their power to prevent the passage .of the Police Offences Amendment Bill, the object of which is to give statutory-effect to those War Regulations which dpal with seditious strikes and lockouts and the dissemination of seditious literature. They spent the whole of last evening on the. second reading of the Bill, and when the House roso at 10.30 o'clock the debate was unfinished, with tho bulk" of tho Opposition members still to speak.

I Opposition [ members did not mince words in condemning the Bill, which they described as a direct attack on the working-class section of tho community.' Tho member for Grey Lynn (Mr. J. A. Lee) was particularly outspoken in alleging that the Minister of Finance (Mr. Coatcs) is leading an attack on behalf of the Government against the workers of the Dominion, and he ro- | ferred to Mr. Coates as the dominating figure in Cabinet^ ■ I Interest was added to the debate by tho entry of Mr. P. O. Webb, the Labour member for Buller, who held the attcnj tion of tho House while he detailed, the battles which he and other Labour members had fought in the past in the interests of the workers. -Ho rnado no secret of tho fact that ho had suffered imprisonment because of the views he had expressed, and1 said that he would willingly, go to prison again for his principles. He appealed to the Government to drop what he described Ms a tantalising measure, and urged it to devote its attention to the. more serious problems awaiting solution. Mr. Webb was warmly applauded by his colleagues as he resumed his seat. - No f Government members took part in thp debate, which, will be resumed this week. f - i. Yesterday afternoon the House gave (some consideration to Parliamentary papers, but there was little that was outstanding in tho debates. ' ;;■ ■